After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Alpha, I Ended Up with the Movie Queen - Chapter 11

Gu Nan and Shen Zhibei were remarkably efficient.

The day after visiting Lin Zhaoyang, they went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to tie the knot.

Having just registered the marriage and posted on Weibo that morning—coupled with a fresh round of clarifications from both their agencies—Ding Ziyan arrived at the Gu residence that afternoon. To ensure Shen Zhibei maintained her exposure, she brought a stack of invitations for variety shows, endorsements, and movies, intending for Shen Zhibei to take her pick.

Currently, “Big Eye” was in a state of paralysis due to Shen Zhibei posting her marriage certificate. Consequently, more paparazzi began to swarm the gates of the Gu estate. However, because the Gu family lived in such a high-end neighborhood with excellent security, the reporters couldn’t even touch the perimeter walls. They could only circle the area far away, hoping for a glimpse of Shen Zhibei or Gu Nan.

Ding Ziyan switched cars before coming to the Gu house to avoid being followed. Having pre-registered a one-time license plate with security, she entered smoothly.

When she arrived, Shen Zhibei was learning to fold dumplings with Yin Yuehua, while Gu Nan was rolling out the dough. The atmosphere among the three genuinely felt like a family. Ding Ziyan’s expression was strange; she didn’t know what had happened in the few days she had been away.

Uncle Quan, who led her in, reminded the group, “Miss Shen’s manager is here.”

Looking up at the three of them, Ding Ziyan greeted them with a smile. “Mrs. Gu, Miss Gu, Zhibei.”

“Sister Yan!” Seeing Ding Ziyan, Shen Zhibei immediately put down the dumpling wrapper and hurried over to hug her arm. Just as she was about to touch her, she realized her hands were covered in flour and gave an embarrassed smile. “Sister Yan, please sit. I’ll go wash my hands.”

“Sister Yan,” Gu Nan greeted as well.

In front of Yin Yuehua, Ding Ziyan nodded with a polite, kind expression.

“Ziyan, you’re here. Please, sit. Is there something specific today?” Yin Yuehua greeted her warmly. “If you’re not in a hurry, stay and have some dumplings later. Zhibei made them.”

“I’m not in a hurry. I’ll be waiting for Zhibei’s dumplings then,” Ding Ziyan said as she sat on the sofa. “I came today mainly to have Zhibei choose from the recent work invitations so we can plan her upcoming schedule.”

Shen Zhibei returned after washing her hands. Hearing Ding Ziyan’s words, both of them observed Yin Yuehua and Gu Nan’s reactions with some trepidation. Although the Gu family had agreed to Shen Zhibei working after marriage, that was before the marriage was registered. Now that it was a reality, there was no guarantee the family wouldn’t change their minds.

“That’s great,” Yin Yuehua said, her mind already on the variety show she planned to send the couple to for “bonding” purposes. A food company under the Gu Group had already sponsored that show; all that was left was to get Shen Zhibei and Gu Nan to agree.

Her eyes swept over to Gu Nan, who was silently rolling dough. “Nannan, aren’t you going out to work soon too?”

“?”

Gu Nan looked up, confused as to why her mother was bringing her into this. But on second thought, she really couldn’t stay at home forever. She didn’t want to act; she didn’t have the skill, and doing so would just result in being mocked by the entire internet like the “Shadow.” She decided to return to her old profession.

Before transmigrating, Gu Nan had studied minor languages and worked as a simultaneous interpreter. The pay for that job was very handsome—otherwise, no matter how much overtime she worked, she wouldn’t have been able to afford a car and a house before she came back. Even if they were only down payments.

Thinking about it that way, it didn’t hurt as much. Since she had only just paid the down payments, she hadn’t even started repaying the loans yet.

“Then I’ll go to the Gu Group to work as a translator. I can do simultaneous interpretation.”

Yin Yuehua had no idea her daughter was proficient in any language, let alone to the level of simultaneous interpretation. Moreover, her intention was simply to get her daughter to say she wanted to work so she could logically recommend the variety show.

And yet, you say you want to be a translator!

She gave Gu Nan an exasperated look. “Wait a moment. I have arrangements for you.”

“Oh.” Gu Nan was bewildered, wondering what was up with her mother today. First she said she should work, then she said she had plans for her.

Seeing that Yin Yuehua and Gu Nan had no intention of blocking Shen Zhibei from working, both Ding Ziyan and Shen Zhibei breathed a massive sigh of relief. Ding Ziyan quickly pulled a thick stack of files from her briefcase.

Because Shen Zhibei had spent nearly a year away from the screen to film an award-contending arthouse film for her mentor, she needed a plan immediately, or her endorsement value would drop.

“Variety shows are on top, endorsements in the middle, movie offers at the bottom, and a few TV scripts.”

“Choose a variety show first. You haven’t been on screen for a year; you need the exposure. I didn’t bring any talk shows because once Director Wang’s movie is out, you’ll be doing so many interviews you’ll want to vomit. But if you want one, I have a few you can pick from.”

“The endorsement shoots you pushed back—those companies know about the recent events and are very understanding, but we still need to get to them quickly.”

Yin Yuehua perked up the moment she heard “variety show.”

“I know. I’ll have time starting tomorrow and can shoot whenever,” Shen Zhibei said, flipping through the variety show offers.

“Good. I’ll coordinate with their teams and let you know.” Seeing Shen Zhibei looking seriously at one offer, Ding Ziyan introduced it: “A Poem-Like Life is a Mango TV show. This is the third season. The first two were very popular. It’s a ‘slow’ variety show with a rural theme; I think it suits you.”

Despite Ding Ziyan’s recommendation, Shen Zhibei read through the entire proposal, checking the show’s positioning and planning. “Okay, let’s go with this one.”

“I’ll reply to the production team then.” Ding Ziyan, knowing Shen Zhibei’s habits, tucked away the other variety offers once one was chosen and moved on to the endorsements.

Yin Yuehua had been nervous when Ding Ziyan mentioned the show, a tension even Gu Nan noticed. But once the choice was made, Yin Yuehua switched from nervous to delighted.

Something is up, Gu Nan thought. She nudged Yin Yuehua’s arm with her elbow and whispered, “Mom, why are you being so weird today?”

Yin Yuehua obviously couldn’t tell Gu Nan yet that she was being sent onto that show as well. She had to wait until the show was about to start to prevent her from letting the cat out of the bag in front of Shen Zhibei. “What ‘weird’? Just get back to rolling those dumpling skins.”

You don’t use that impatient tone with Shen Zhibei! Gu Nan was shocked.

“Stop acting,” Yin Yuehua said, lightly slapping Gu Nan at her obviously fake shock. “Ziyan is staying for dumplings, so hurry up with the skins. I’ll have Auntie Li come help fold.”

While the Gu mother and daughter were talking, Shen Zhibei had picked out two endorsements and kept the movie and TV scripts to read later. Normally, this would be the end of business, and they could all fold dumplings and chat.

However, Ding Ziyan had things she couldn’t say in front of the Gu family. She kept shooting meaningful looks at Shen Zhibei. Shen Zhibei understood immediately and stood up. “Mom, I’m going to my room with Sister Yan to handle some work. I’ll learn to fold dumplings with you next time.”

“You can learn anytime. Go ahead with your work,” Yin Yuehua said with a smile.

Shen Zhibei led Ding Ziyan to her room. Once the door was locked, Ding Ziyan asked urgently, “Is this room soundproof?”

“Very,” Shen Zhibei said, seeing her manager’s concern. “Don’t worry, the mothers treat me very well.”

“What about Gu Nan?”

“She’s fine. We don’t see each other often. Even when we do, she’s very… gentlemanly.” Shen Zhibei bit her lip, her brow furrowing. “Help me look into Bai Rui. Gu Nan’s former assistant is one of her secret boyfriends, and he was the one who bought the induction agent.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” Ding Ziyan’s internal danger rating for Bai Rui hit the maximum. Bai Rui was the person most likely to inherit Shen Zhibei’s resources and likely the person who wanted her gone the most.

“I didn’t quite believe it at first, but after living here a few days, Gu Nan’s behavior really isn’t like that night at all,” Shen Zhibei said, looking confused. “Logically, she has no reason to act to this extent.”

“Alright, don’t think too much. I’ll investigate Bai Rui and let you know. Since your relationship is okay for now, can we move to the next step of the PR plan?”

“We can.”

“Then when we go out later, I’ll tell Gu Nan she needs to ‘cooperate’ by driving you to your endorsement shoot. I’ll get some paparazzi to take photos to leak online, and have marketing accounts write some soft articles about you being a ‘loving couple.’”

Hearing the title of the planned articles, Shen Zhibei—who hadn’t objected thus far—immediately said, “Not that.”

“What?”

“Don’t write anything about a ‘loving couple,’” Shen Zhibei said seriously. “It’s too fake. It’ll easily be exposed as a marketing stunt.”

Ding Ziyan nodded. “Fine, I’ll have them write something more normal.” Seeing Shen Zhibei’s resistance, she dropped the topic and moved on. “Gu Nan didn’t lie about the resources; Chengxin’s film projects and Gu Group resources are indeed tilting toward you. Those movie scripts I gave you were sent over by Chengxin.”

“I noticed. Several of the endorsements are also Gu Group brands,” Shen Zhibei said with a self-mocking smile. “From a business perspective, I suppose I made a profit on this marriage.”

Ding Ziyan squeezed her hands. “Don’t think like that. This world is unfair to Omegas. When a scandal like this breaks, only the Omega suffers, while the Alpha gets a reputation for being ‘dashing.’ There is nothing wrong with seizing the resources you are given.”